"I was so delighted to bring to you the fine musicianship of Markus James. His orginal approach to blues music Combining American Roots Blues with West African roots music is such a soul filled experience. They created some magical music."
- Blues Host Freddie Blue, WWOZ, New Orleans, LA

at JOE's PUB, New York City

Markus James and Wassonrai at Joe's Pub
"Sunday night, Joe's Pub in Manhattan played host to an evening of music fusing traditions literally from here to Timbuktu. Blues singer/songwriter/guitarist Markus James and the Wassonrai explored the early roots of blues music by mixing the American style with the traditional sounds of the Wassoulou and Sonrai people of Mali, West Africa--the people from whose music most ethnomusicologists believe the blues derived... The trio - Markus on guitar, Mamadou Sidibe on the kamala ngoni (a brand of African harp) and Makane Kouyate on the calabash - mixed not only cultural styles, but languages as well--Markus would sing verses in English and his Malian counterparts would respond either in Bamanakan or in Sonrai (two indigenous languages spoken in Mali.) Markus' guitar seemed to hover over the hypnotic rhythms of both calabash and kamala ngoni--which plays strongly percussive, repetitive pentatonic patterns--adding tasteful riffs and subtle harmonics. The group produced a sound that struck a nearly perfect balance between the ancient and modern blues forms so that they were at once distinguishable and complimentary to one another. Markus' voice was gritty and haunting while Mamadou's and Makane's were smooth and subdued, further upholding the elegant equilibrium of the sound...

The highlight of the show was a guest appearance by legendary Wassoulou singer Coumba Sidibe. At first bashful, the Malian diva honored Markus' invitation to the stage and soon found herself belting vocal lines to an elated audience. Those on hand began to sway, clap along and throw money on stage, as is often customary in West Africa. One felt transported to the banks of the Niger. Meanwhile, Markus' voice conjured images of the Mississippi. Since one tradition was born from the other, it is of small wonder that the two came together so beautifully."

--by Eric Herman and Jesse Brenner for www.afropop.org

Booking Contacts:

booking@firenzerecords.com

Mindy Giles • mingiles@gmail.com

Selected Previous Shows: 2008: Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Mendocino,CA Freight and Salvage, Berkeley,CA Experience Music Project, Seattle,WA Vancouver Folk Festival, Vancouver, Canada WOW Hall, Eugene,OR Ashkenaz, Berkeley,CA Ali Farka Toure Festival, Niafounke, MALI, West Africa 2007: High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, CA Harlow's, Sacramento, CA Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Mendocino, CA Don Quixote's International Music Hall, Santa Cruz, CA Sweetwater, Mill Valley, CA Ashkenaz, Berkeley, CA Slim's, San Francisco, CA Jamal Poi, Tribute Concerts for Ali Farka Toure: Place De L'independence, Niafounke, Mali Palais De La Culture, Bamako, Mali Hotel Salaam, Bamako, Mali 2006: De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA Sebastopol Community Center, Sebastopol, CA Sunnyvale Theatre (Film/Concert), Sunnyvale, CA Bowery Poetry Club (Film/Concert), New York, NY Lincoln Center Out of Doors Series, New York, NY Haight Street Fair, San Francisco, California Berkeley World Music Festival, Berkeley, California Ashland Armory, Ashland, OR Price Center Ballroom, UC San Diego, San Diego, California (Festival In The Desert Tour, with Tinariwen) Rozsa Center, Houghton, Michigan (Festival In The Desert Tour, with Tinariwen) The Hothouse, Chicago, IL Access (Film/Concert), Dearborn, Michigan Hi-Tone Cafe, Memphis, Tennessee Thirsy Hippo, Hattiesburg, Mississippi Center for Study of Southern Culture, Oxford, Mississippi Thacker Mountain Radio, Oxford, Mississippi            Taylor Grocery, Oxford, Mississippi

The Festival in the Desert (Essakane, Mali)

 

2005:

: Washington, D.C. - Fete de la Musique

: Joe's Pub, New York City

: Sebastopol Community Center - Sebastopol, Calif.

: Bolinas, California - Community Center -

with Stephen Kent and Trance Mission

: The Ashkenaz - Berkeley, CA

: The Make-Out Room - San Francisco, California

: Timbuktu, Mali

: Toya-Koriome, Mali

: Festival in the Desert - Essakane, Mali

: Goundam, Mali

: Dire, Mali

: Mill Valley Fall Festival

: Barbes, Park Slope, Brooklyn

: Fete de la Musique, Washington, D.C.

: Festival Internationale de Louisiane, Lafayette, La

: Festival Internationale de Louisiane, Lafayette, La

: Preservation Park, New Orleans, La

: "Festival in the Desert," Essakane, Mali, West Africa

KPFT Radio, Houston, Texas, "Music Beyond Borders"

New Orleans, LA: WWOZ Radio, World and Blues Shows

: Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Concert, University of Southern Mississippi Blues Concert series (afternoon); Thirsty Hippo Club (evening)

: KRVS radio, Lafayette, Louisiana

Blue Moon Patio, Lafayette, Louisiana

Listeners' Party for "Tangents" hosted by Dore Stein, KALW Radio, San Francisco California.

: Sonoma County Blues Festival, Santa Rosa, California.

WUMB Radio, Boston, Massachusetts

Offshore Ale Co., Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

WCNI radio, New London, Ct.

"traditions", WRIU radio, Kingston, Rhode Island

: Johnny D's, Boston, Massachusetts

: Sophia Hall, Summerfield Waldorf, Santa Rosa, Californnia

: "Music of theWorld" KPFA Radio, Berkeley, California

: The Powerhouse, Main St. Sebastopol, California

: TUVA Performance Space, 2139 Adeline St. Berkeley, California

: "Planet Soup", KWVA, Eugene, Oregon & "Dharma Wheel", KBOO, Portland, Oregon

: "Acoustic Junction", KRVM Radio & Cafe Paradiso, Eugene, Oregon

: "Global Village", KUSP radio, Santa Cruz Calif.

: Luther Burbank Center, Santa Rosa, California (with Rory Block)

: KWMR Radio, Pt. Reyes, California

: "One World", KRSH Radio, Santa Rosa, California

: Sonoma State University, Cotati CA.. Workshop and Concert

: Eugene Oregon, KLCC Radio, KVAL Television, WOW Hall, (opening for Jonathan Richman)

: Live at Tower Boston, 3 PM

: appearing on Boston's WUMB: "Live at Noon"

: Club Helsinki, Great Barrington, Mass.

: WKZE radio, Sharon, Connecticut "The Parlor": Live Radio Broadcast

: appearing live on Boston's WGBH: "the World", nationally syndicated program

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